Spain Expected to Allow Same-Sex Marriage

I heard on the news that Spain is expected to legalize same-sex marriage next year. The article says that the bill is expected to pass easily.

Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega was quoted as saying “The right to marry is a right for everyone, without distinction. It cannot be understood as a privilege. The recognition of homosexuals’ rights eradicates an unjustified discrimination.”.

It seems like Europe is collectively coming to its senses as America becomes more and more mired in misguided puritanism. How so?

In another article, Arkansas, having been told by the court that it can’t bar gays from being foster parents, is expected to appeal. Strangely it is ok for gays to adopt there. This is the exact opposite from Florida.

As 2004 closes, where are we?

If you live in Belgium,the Netherlands or parts of Canada you can marry. Sweden and Denmark provide civil unions and France, Britain and Germany provide some limited recognition.

Here, at home, you can marry in Massachusetts but the federal government won’t recognize your union at all. Eleven more states wrote discrimination into their constitutions with my own Virginia beginning an effort to do the same.

Thanks to Bush’s more or less open hostility toward gays, attacks on LGBT individuals have risen since the election. Some so-called religious
leaders have preached intolerance and hate while one church that tried to run an open, inclusive commercial was barred by two major television
networks as being too controversial.

Hopefully we can reduce the amount of gloom in 2005 and make strides toward making America a place that all Americans can be proud to live.

Looks like I’ve drifted from my headline, but that’s ok.